Bhubaneswar: The Student Police Cadet scheme, a nationwide programme, will shortly be launched in the twin cities.

The police have identified one school each in the twin cities of Cuttack and Bhubaneswar for the scheme.

Police sources said they were ready to launch the scheme anytime. "We have already sent a letter, seeking consent of chief minister Naveen Patnaik to launch the scheme and are waiting for his approval," said a police officer.

The scheme is a school-based youth development initiative that train high school students to respect for the law, discipline, civic sense, resistance to social evils and empathy for vulnerable sections of the society. The police said the students would learn skills of disaster management, search and rescue operations and firing. Once trained, they will also assist the police in various policing works.

The police had, in January 2017, rolled out the student-traffic volunteer scheme, under which college students had been roped in to assist traffic personnel in managing vehicles on road. At present, more than 150 students are working under the scheme in the twin cities.

The police said the scheme helped them educate the youth mass regarding the traffic norms. Keeping an eye on the success of the scheme, Odisha police have also decided to extend the initiative in five other cities - Rourkela, Sambalpur, Berhampur, Balsore and Koraput.

Similarly, the police also recently launched Know Your Police initiative to allay fear about the police personnel from the minds of schoolchildren. In the first phase, students of three schools in Bhubaneswar interacted with the men in khaki and asked questions related to the roles of police and their methods to detect crimes.

"All these programmes are intended to involve students with policing and induct sense of responsibility. They will also play an important role in educating others to refrain away from committing crimes," said a police officer.